The History of Peel Hey

The pictures you see around the dining room and lounge are of the family and employees that lived at Peel Hey between 1917 and 2001.

The family name was Halliwell and the house, barn and land made up
Peel Hey Nurseries.

Each year the crop was planted "Down the Grounds", the name for the area beyond the barn. The crop was blessed by the Reverend from Frankby Church on Rogation Sunday, after which a grand party was held in the garden, when much beer, locally brewed mead and good food was consumed.

At the first call of the cuckoo in early July, a group of Irishmen arrived to gather the flower crop. The foreman, Jack McGinty and his men lived and slept upstairs in the barn called "The Flower Room" until the whole crop was indoors and bunched, which usually took about 6 weeks.

Richard Halliwell was a great character and was reported to have had lunch with the American President on a visit to the USA in the 1930's.

He was a real family man and was devoted to his wife and 3 beautiful daughters until he died in 1967, and unfortunately his wife Ada, died soon after, of a broken heart.

The eldest daughter, Dorothy was the only one of the three to marry, and moved away to live in Meols. Eleanor and Marjorie lived at Peel Hey for the whole here of their lives until Marjorie died in 1985, leaving Eleanor alone but quite happy until she passed away in 2001.

In the time the sisters lived on their own, the house and grounds fell into disrepair and before Peel Hey Guest House was opened, there was no gas to the property and all cooking was carried out on an old stove and the mangle outside was regularly used.

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